The British Council today announced it will for the first time host its flagship New Directions Conference to be held in Nairobi, Kenya on 24 – 26 September 2024. This is the first time the conference will be hosted in Africa. The conference is an opportunity to bring the professional language testing and learning community together to engage on challenges and trends affecting the education and assessment systems in Sub Saharan Africa and beyond.
The New Directions conference aims to showcase innovative language testing and policy work in the region and put Sub Saharan Africa scholars and practitioners on the international language learning and assessment map. The conference will explore the theme of Rethinking policy and practice for English in complex linguistic landscapes.
The areas of focus will include influencing assessment policy to serve multilingual communities; English and modern African identities; multilingualism and plurilingualism opportunities and challenges; and technology and language assessment and learning in Africa.
The conference will bring together over 200 participants from 18 countries and will run over two days with a packed agenda featuring high profile experts in the field of language and assessment who will cover a range of topics.
The conference will be officially opened by British Council’s deputy CEO, Kate Ewart-Biggs and the Country Director Kenya, Tom Porter alongside the new Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Director, Lucy Pearson. Plenary speakers and panelists expected at the conference include Dr David Njengere, Kenya National Examinations Council; Prof. Leketi Makalela, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa; Prof. Barry O’Sullivan, British Council; and Dr. Harry Kuchah Kuchah, University of Birmingham; among others.
Keshav Sreedharan, Regional Director of Exams, British Council, said: “This year’s New Directions, Sub Saharan Africa conference will explore questions around what English could look like and how it will be used. We will discuss what broader competencies are necessary in a rapidly changing and digitally enabled communication landscape, and how these can be developed and assessed in the future. We will also explore the potential changes of language education policy and reform in Kenya and the wider Sub-Saharan Africa region. Additionally, the conference will provide a platform to share global perspectives about the future of English with partners, thought leaders, teachers and learners around the world.”
Tom Porter, Country Director, British Council Kenya, said: “The New Directions conference serves as a dynamic platform for fostering collaboration, driving innovation and developing sustainable solutions that empower educational institutions. By bringing together educators, policymakers and experts to exchange transformative ideas, we reinforce our shared commitment to creating a brighter future for education in the region. We have a longstanding partnership with the Ministry of Education and support efforts to enhance core skills assessment.”
